


Song for a Siren

by Notsociallove



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-27 15:25:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8406916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notsociallove/pseuds/Notsociallove
Summary: Coming home from a year long vacation around the world, Emma Swan has a world of problems to deal with, including getting her husband to sign divorce papers. Killian Jones still has no idea what went wrong in his marriage since the moment he woke up a cool October morning to find his wife missing. The truth might not be what he thinks it is.





	1. Returning Home

Stepping off the plane is frightening, yet exciting. Mary Margaret is waiting for her at baggage claim, but she’s not quite sure what is waiting for her back in Storybrooke. Her leaving didn’t exactly go off without a hitch a year before, but her trip was over for now. She tries to stop that train of thought in its tracks, but pain crosses her mind over again.

This is why she left, why she just couldn’t stay another moment. She had only told Mary Margaret and David that she was leaving, but everyone else was okay with a simple text…well, almost everyone.

Emma’s fingers graze the buttons over her dark cardigan and fidget by her stomach as she waits for the line to get through the last stretch. Listening to the conversations around her is simple considering they’re all in English, compared to the rest of her trip. Between Italy, Denmark, India, France, and Amsterdam, she had been witness to many cultures and languages. At first it had been a bit of culture shock, but she just couldn’t bear to be home. The sights were too much day in and day out. Ignorance surely is bliss.

Mary Margaret is practically jumping up and down with joy when she gets to the right carousel. She runs over and wraps her in a huge embrace. Emma sighs and sinks in her friend’s arms, despite her enjoyment at being away, she really did miss her.

“So how was it? My gosh you’re so tan.” Mary Margaret holds her at arms-length, practically beaming.

“Absolutely amazing, India definitely gave me some color. I feel a little more whole.” Emma shrugs, running a hand through her hair to avoid Mary Margaret’s barely concealed look of sympathy. “I don’t want to talk about it here.”

Her friend nods, “We’ve got all the time in the world.” The baggage carousel beeps alerting her to the luggage starting its descent. With her luck, her black bag will be the last one to come out. Travelling with only one bag was so freeing, her other supply of meager possession was stored in a box at her friend’s apartment. She planned on staying there for a week or so until she could get a place of her own.

“I don’t think I ever want to talk about it.” She shrugs, avoiding her eye. It’s completely within reason that she doesn’t want to discuss the circumstances of her departure. It’s not like anyone actual knows anyways.

//

Mary Margaret leads her upstairs to her apartment, but stops just outside the door. “I told David not to invite everyone, but I’m sure he did. Act surprised.” Without giving her time to respond, or even run away, she pushes open the door to almost fifteen people. Emma wishes she could have run.

David is wearing a party hat, along with Robin and August which she’s sure he forced them into, but everyone else has a drink in hand and looks to already be having a good time. The apartment is decorated with streamers and a few purple balloons, but its who’s lounging in the corner that catches her eyes.

“Welcome home!” A few of them manage to shout in unison as David comes over to wrap her in a bear hug.

“So happy to have you home, Em.” He crushes her ribs, but it’s nice. The smell of his cologne wraps around her, encasing her in the comforts of home.

Still, she can’t fully relax. Her hand fidgets with the buttons again, a habit she had developed over the course of the last year. She had managed to break herself of it while she was away, but it seemed coming back was just a colossal backslide. Keeping her voice low and close to his ear, she mutters. “What is he doing here?”

David smiles wide, pulling back from her and rearranges a piece of hair on her shoulder. Mary Margaret is practically oozing awkward next to them. “He’s your husband...and he hasn’t had the easiest year, Emma.” His eyes can’t help but to glance over to Killian.

Her eyes flash. “I filed for divorce and you know that.” Instinct is telling her that she needs to run, go fly across the ocean again. It’s tempting to buy another plane ticket, but she promised herself that she would stay just until the paper were signed. The problem lies in the room with her, making her anxiety rise high and higher. She can’t even look at him properly. “I need to get out of here.”  

Pushing through a few people, she throws open the apartment door and practically runs down the stairs. The cool fall air outside does wonders for the panic attack she’s about to have. Emma closes her eyes and listens to the winds that’s rustling through the nearby trees. The noise seems to calm her insides, slowing the churning of her stomach and bringing her back to reality.

Reality sucks.

Especially when your soon-to-be ex-husband is standing across from you after leaving with no explanation for a year.

“I don’t want to talk, Killian.” Emma turns her back on him, already starting across the street. She’s not sure where she’s going to go, but anywhere else is better.

She can hear his boots hitting the pavement forcefully as he chases after her. “Bloody fuck, Emma! Can you even look at me?” He’s right. Still, even one year without contact, he can still read her like a book. His face is too painful to look at. She fidgets with the buttons again.

She whirls on her heels and stares him down with what she’s sure is a look of death. “No. I can’t look at you. You’re _everything_ that’s wrong with my life. Just sign the damn papers!”

There’s so much hurt in his face that she has to force her eyes to anywhere but his face. The turning leaving on a nearby tree draws her attention.

“I just can’t do this,” she mutters, but she knows that he heard her by the way his face falls.

It doesn’t seem like he has any more to say and she’s five minutes from breaking down in the middle of the dark streets, so she turns back to her walk down Storybrooke’s main road. She leaves him staring after her.


	2. A Hot Latte

She wakes up in a cold sweat to the pitch black. One look at the clock at her bedside tells her it’s barely five in the morning. Emma lets out a groan and flops back on the pillows. It’s been the same nightmare for almost a year and a half now, and it’s absolutely terrifying. She takes a few deep breathes to try to level her heart rate and focus on the ticking of the clock near the door. Thankfully there wasn’t any screaming this time, Mary Margaret and David would be rushing in by now.

-

After waking up for the second, Emma wakes up feeling at least slightly better. It took a while to fall back asleep, but thankfully the rest of the night went by without further incident. The smell of bacon and pancakes definitely helps as well. She peels herself out of bed, with difficulty, and throws a sweater on over her head for some extra protection. It helps to have an extra layer just in case.

Mary Margaret and David are waiting patiently downstairs with big grins. He’s flipping up the last of the pancake on to a big plate and Mary Margaret is pulling butter and syrup out of the fridge. It’s such a domestic scene, and she has to bite her bottom lip to keep it from quivering.

“Morning, Sunshine,” David winks. “Sleep well?”

Emma slides into a seat at the bar and nods her thanks when he slides a cup of coffee to her. The warmth from the cup feels heavenly on her chilled fingers. “Alright.” She tries not to think about the nightmares that have come back in just one night. It took six months while she was away to not wake up screaming. Barely twenty four hours back and she’s already slipping back.

They eat breakfast together, keeping it on simple topics. Emma appreciates the effort, even if it does feel like they’re all walking on eggshells. David pours too much syrup and Mary Margaret rolls her eyes, it feels so normal.

It’s when she’s washing up the plates and David is zip-locking the rest of the pancakes that they ask about her day plans.

Emma hums to herself for a moment. “Well, I’m going downtown to Frost Associates. Elsa’s my lawyer.” The eggshells definitely crack as she speaks. It’s as if she can feel David’s eyes on her back.

Mary Margaret saves her. “Tell Elsa we say hello. She’s always so busy, that girl.”

“Of course.”

-

She’s called into Elsa’s office five minutes after she lets the receptionist, Elsa’s sister, Anna, knows she’s arrived.

“Emma!” Elsa immediately jumps up from behind the large wood desk and runs to her. She’s immediately enveloped in a huge embrace. “It’s so nice to see you.” They’d become close over the past months. Elsa had been one of two people she’d kept in contact with over the course of her vacation.

“Thank you so much for doing this,” Emma says.

Elsa directs her to a chair and she goes back behind the desk. “Of course. I’m so sorry I couldn’t just finalize it with you away. Killian won’t budge and neither will his lawyer.”

“So what should we be doing?”

“Honestly,” she shakes her head and starts taping her pen lightly on the desk, “I don’t know. I’m almost hoping he caves after seeing that you’re serious. Mediation is on Thursday.”

It’s terrifying to think she’ll have to face him in a professional setting. She can barely be in a room with him for five minutes without practically having a panic attack. Her heart felt like it was going to pump out of her chest and her skin was going to fall off. It probably would’ve been better if she could jump out of her skin, it would’ve saved her from further interaction. Killian’s eyes were torn to shred, and she couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had gone wrong. They used to be so happy, and everything was so easy.

_8 Years Ago_

_“Dirty chai, coconut whipped cream,” Emma rattles off her order to the barista and then fishes the money out of her wallet. She’s a stickler for exact change._

_She can’t help but check for her advanced psychology exam results every few seconds. If her phone could talk, it would be screaming for her to stop. The constant refreshing practically caused her to walk into the glass door of_ A Hot Latte _a few moments earlier…which is probably why she thinks her name is called. Junior year was really working her._

_There’s a purple to-go cup on the pickup table so Emma picks it up and takes a large sip without a second though. That is, until a bitter concoction hits the back of her throat and a coughing fit ensues._

_She looks up to a man in a_ New York University _sweatshirt laughing at her. “I think that’s actually_ my _drink, love.” His eyes have genuine amusement in them and she can’t help but notice is accent. Her drink is called and he picks it up and goes for a drink. His face contorts in the same way she assumes hers did. “Bloody hell, that’s like drinking straight sugar, lass.”_

_Emma rolls her eyes. “Like yours is much better. Practically battery acid.” They exchange cups and immediately take a drink to wash their mouths out. Her phone vibrates with a text; the results are in. Immediately, she’s fishing around for her phone and hitting the refresh button once again._

_Slowly, the results appear and her eyes light up. She looks back up to the man, “I’ll, uh, see you around?” She flashes him her phone case, the one that says_ NYU _on the back._

_His eyes are playful—those blues are gorgeous. “Killian Jones.”_

_She smiles. “Emma Swan.” Already, she’s dialing Mary Margaret’s number to tell her the good news, but she doesn’t miss the way he bites his bottom lip and the small laugh that takes the form of an exhale._

_“See you around, Swan.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for checking out the second chapter! I love reading all of your feedback. If you have time please leave some more!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for checking this out! Please leave a review if you have some time.


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